DAKAR 2026

Martin Macík finished the fourth stage with a 12min49s advantage over Mitchel van den Brink and took the lead from the Dutchman in the Dakar truck category

Martin Macík delivered a brilliant performance with the #600 MM Technology in the marathon stage of the 48th edition of the Dakar Rally, held this Wednesday (7), and took the overall lead among the trucks. The Czech completed the course in Al’Ula in a time of 5h40min19s, with a large enough advantage to turn the tables on Mitchel van den Brink, who started the day at the top of the table.

The Dutchman in the #601 Eurol was 12min49s slower than the leader, while Vaidotas Žala completed the top-3, with a time of 5h58min28s. With a 22-minute delay, Martin Šoltys had to settle for fourth place, just ahead of Aleš Loprais, who finished fifth and now carries a 1-minute penalty.

Kay Huzink placed the Renault #600 in sixth position, accompanied by Martin van den Brink, Richard de Groot, Karel Poslední and Michal Valtr in the top ten. Winner of the second stage, Gert Huzink did not have an easy time and finished the stage in 11th place, with a time of 6h34min17s.

With the end of the marathon stage, Macík accumulated a total of 19h11min37s and took first place in the overall Dakar classification, with a narrow advantage of 4min28s over Mitchel van den Brink, who is in second place. With a total penalty of 3min10s, Loprais managed to maintain third position, now 30min02s behind.

After plummeting down the standings following the end of the third stage, Zala managed a slight recovery on Wednesday, moving from fifth to fourth place, although he is still 46min52s behind the leader. Richard de Groot is in the top 5, 1h04min41s behind.

The Dakar continues on Thursday (8), with the riders leaving Al’Ula towards Hail, covering the 356 km of timed stages in the fifth stage.

Brock Heger(RZR Factory Racing/Polaris) triumphs in SSV

In the SSV category, Brock Heger (Loeb Fraymedia Motorsport RZR Factory Racing/Polaris) dominated and won, beating the Portuguese duo João Monteiro/Nuno Morais (Can-Am) by 16m02 seconds. There was a double national top three, with the duo João Dias/Daniel Jordão (Santag Racing/Polaris) in third. Heger leads the overall classification with a 31m31 second margin over his teammate Xavier de Soultrait, with Alexandre Pinto/Bernardo Oliveira (Old Friends Rally Team/Polaris) in third, 47m56 minutes behind. Gonçalo Guerreiro (Loeb Fraymedia Motorsport RZR Factory Racing/Polaris) had a difficult day and dropped to seventh.

Brock Heger dominates SSV and secures third victory. The American driver extends his overall lead with absolute dominance, while a Portuguese duo conquers the podium. Brock Heger won the SSV category of the 4th stage of the 2026 Dakar Rally, recording his third triumph in this edition, after winning the prologue and the third stage. The American from Polaris imposed an unrelenting pace and significantly extended his lead in the overall standings.

The start of the stage was controlled by Hunter Miller (Can-Am), who led the category in the first few kilometers. However, Brock Heger gradually began to apply pressure, overtaking his rival and taking the lead at kilometer 162. From then on, the reigning champion increased his margin, reaching a lead of more than 13 minutes in the virtual standings.

The Can-Am fleet largely dominated the category, with most of the top 5 occupied by machines from the American manufacturer, leaving Heger as the only Polaris representative fighting for victory.

Nico Cavigliasso (Vertical Motorsport/Taurus) was the winner in the Challenger category, in which the Portuguese duo Rui Carneiro/Fausto Mota (MMP) finished fifth. The overall standings are now led by Yasir Seaidan (Nasser Racing Team/Taurus) with a 45-second margin over Pau Navarro (Odyssey Academy by BBR/Taurus). The best Brazilian duo, Pedro Gonçalves/Hugo Magalhães (BBR Motorsport/Taurus), are now in sixth place, 1 minute 26 seconds and 56 seconds behind the leader, with a 15-minute penalty.

by Autonews